Eyes Of Blazing Ice
by Hopeful Puppy
Summary: TEASER: In a world where Avatar Korra grew up on the streets of Republic City, she decides to deal with him the night he attacks the Probending Championships, before this mess gets out of hand. Besides she's been waiting to taste the sweet dish of vengence for far too long...


**I had this idea for about a year now where Korra was raised on the streets of Republic City after she was taken from her parents and before the White Lotus found her. It would be a multi-chapter story with each chapter being the equivalant to an episode. It would follow the cannon up until the Probending Championships, but from the point of view of a slightly more cynical Korra. However, it won't be written until I re-watch the first 5 episodes at least.**

**Anyway, this has spoilers from the entire series, so don't say I didn't warn you.**

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She gracefully swung herself up onto the platform. She both heard and felt the chi-blocker move toward her from behind and quickly dispatched him with her eyes closed.

Opening her eyes she turned to see the final member of the Wolfbats fall to the floor, beaten and broken. His bending gone he had no more fight left in him. Looking at their slumped, exhausted forms Korra tutted.

"Shoddy workmanship" she commented.

Amon turned slowly as his chi-blockers growled, making them seem more animalistic than the humans they were. Shaded eyes took in the form of the girl before him. Her belt and uniform clearly identified her as the waterbender of the defeated team, her smirk said she was cocky and her eyes blazed with an emotion he couldn't quite recognise. Over all he wasn't impressed. She was just a young girl who was biting off more than she could chew. Still, something about her bothered him.

"I wouldn't expect you to even begin to understand my gift, bender" Amon began. She cut him off before he even got a rhythm going.

"See, here's the thing. I can understand, but your lackeys aren't going to like it."

Her voice was honeysweet and her eyes glinted before blazing again. Her cocky smirk turned mischievous and she all but purred her next sentence.

"I mean, who would, when the man who preached about equality for all non-benders is actually a bender himself?"

The chi-blockers hissed in shocked denial but Amon stood unmoving, his mask hiding any and all facial reactions he may have had. Korra continued as if nothing had happened.

"And a bloodbender no less! Well, waterbender to begin with, but obviously you prefer bending blood to bending water."

She turned her attention to the Lieutenant beside Amon, her face a mask of sympathy and sincerity that was so open and realistic, they almost believed it.

"Tough break" was all she said and the illusion shattered.

Amon's hand twitched and Korra almost smirked victoriously. Almost.

The Lieutenant raised his hands to his electric batons and opened his mouth to say something. Amon stopped him by raising his hand and stepped forward himself. Curious, and finally recognising the blaze as a veil to cover her emotions, Amon kept his voice calm even though his temper was simmering and asked;

"What makes you say that, little waterbender? Cockiness? Or is it wishful thinking? Or maybe-"

She scoffed, cutting him off and his temper rose;

"Buddy, I can feel your bending from here. In fact, I can pinpoint the blocks you've put on them from here and I could probably reverse what you've done but it would be quite painful. That and I agree that some people need to learn a bit of humility," she explained, completely uncaring.

Hope shone in the eyes of the fallen benders, though it dimmed to be nearly nonexistent by the time she finished her explanation. Amon resisted the urge to growl. The girl was trying his patience and hitting far too close to home with her assumptions. Though he was surprised she could feel it. She must have been hiding her true ability in these silly games.

"So you believe in equality?" the Equalist leader asked fishing for information and buying time to tide over his rising temper.

"I believe in karma," she responded casually. It was a simple answer but it was clear what she was implying.

"But don't you agree that it's an injustice for benders to take advantage of their abilities over non-benders?" he asked passionately.

"Tough shit," the surrounding group blinked at her blunt and rather crass reaction, "you can't bend and they can. Sucks for you."

"You don't sound very sympathetic. Is it arrogance?"

"No, my dear Amon, its something called 'Life's Not Fair'. Besides, you all have obviously found a way to fight back. I feel more sympathetic for the poor bastards who can't."

It was becoming astonishingly clear that this girl had grown up on the streets and a quick guilt trip was not going to make her doubt or question herself. Amon changed tactics, picking a different route to put her off and appeal to her more maternal side.

"What about the families that are destroyed because of benders? The orphaned children and mothers left without their sons and daughters, all because a firebender wanted some fun?"

He seemed to have struck a nerve. Amon and his chi-blockers watched gleefully as the girl's cocky facade melted to reveal a blank expression. Her eyes glazed and there was a long pause of silence. The chi-blockers surrounded her quietly. The sound of her voice made them tense but it was what she said that made them freeze in shock.

"My earliest memory is of my parents being murdered in cold blood by a group of non-benders and then being shoved in a cage for three weeks by their bending accomplices."

Her eyes focused and she looked straight at Amon, who almost stumbled back at her hateful, murderous glare. Her blue eyes froze over and their depths swirled with a dark thunderous power. Beside him, his Lieutenant did stumble and once again raised his hands to his batons. Her gaze shifted from him to his Lieutenant and narrowing her eyes, her glare intensified. The Lieutenant froze and after a moment of deliberation, lowered his arms in submission. It was an impressive feat for a girl half his age at most.

She glanced around her balefully and the chi-blockers took an unconscious step back. For once, Amon didn't blame them for their fear. The impassive expression that now covered her face combined with the icy chill of her eyes told Amon that they had entered into and a whole new ball game. One he wasn't sure if they were prepared for.

"I hate your chi-blockers" she informed Amon lightly as she returned her gaze to him, a stark contrast to the unadulterated hatred in her eyes. "Not because of what they do, but because they wear exactly the same uniform as the ones who murdered my parents and kidnapped me from my home."

His blockers shifted uneasily and his Lieutenant took another step back. For a moment, Amon pondered the notion that she thought the two groups were one in the same. As if reading his mind, Korra waved her hand dismissively.

"Don't worry. I know it wasn't you. You were only just beginning to build power at the time. My attackers were an established group."

This statement appeared to do nothing to lift the uneasy feeling in the air surrounding the chi-blockers. Amon was impressed, however, at her knowledge. Obviously she had done her research. Still, he wasn't sure if he should be offended or not by her dismissal. He decided to not take offence when her eyes glided over to his Lieutenant once again, who was now a good two paces behind him. The ice of her eyes promised their target pain and Amon could feel the erratic heartbeat of the Lieutenant behind him through his bending. Without taking her eyes off the Lieutenant she raised her arms and gestured to the surrounding group, who tensed in response.

"I know that no one in this gathered group was there that night. Thankfully, your organisation has avoided going after children and judging by your stiff postures, it's a subject you'd rather avoid. Frankly, I'm happy to oblige."

The feeling of relief amongst his chi-blockers was palpable and he could see some shoulders of his followers visibly sag.

"No one here is old enough to have been part of that group. Not even you," she explained, glancing at Amon for a brief second before returning to their previous target. She didn't explain how she knew this information and Amon was pretty sure he didn't want to know. Her lips twisted into a cruel smirk as she continued,

"No one, except him."

It was very apparent just whom she was speaking about. The stutter Amon heard coming from behind him only confirmed it.

"Th-that's not possible."

"That's not probable," she corrected.

"You're supposed to be dead. O-or rotting in a cage in some forgotten basement," the Lieutenant's words were panicked and her responding grin was so gleefully vicious, it was borderline savage.

"But I'm not."

"You're the-"

He was silenced as she threw out her hand and froze the saliva in his mouth. Even still, she didn't stop grinning.

"Ah, ah, ah," she taunted, "that would be telling now, wouldn't it?"

The next second, she was moving. Graceful, deadly and no longer grinning, she used the water from the platform to send whips and blasts towards the muted Lieutenant. Upon contact, the water froze leaving the man trapped in ice that was joined to his body through the pores in his skin. Amon felt all of this through his bending once again, having never turned his gaze from the powerful waterbending girl. He couldn't help but think it was precision at its finest.

"I'll deal with you later," she hissed.

Turning back to Amon, she nodded before glancing around and rolling her eyes. She had forgotten his chi-blockers were there.

Once again pulling at the water on the platform, she raised it to circle her being. The chi-blockers tensed but were a second too late to move, as she spread her arms, extending the water outwards and pushing the chi-blockers from the platform and into the safety pool below.

Amon's eyes widened behind his mask as the water arched above his head to bypass him. He couldn't help but turn to follow it with his gaze to se if the girl really had spared him from the purging of the platform. He watched as it lowered enough to brush the stunned and weakened Wolfbats off the platform with the rest of his chi-blockers. He turned back to the girl in question to see her perform another act of extreme precision. She closed her eyes, raised her arms and used copious amounts of water from the safety pool to drag the remaining chi-blockers and conscious spectators from the stands into the safety pool below the platform. She opened her eyes to look at him.

"Alone at last."

Though her tone was teasing, her expression of impassiveness had not changed and her eyes still glowed with a dark, murderous blue hue. Amon suddenly wondered if he should quit while he was ahead. Shaking his head free of his doubts, he lowered himself into a defensive stance.

"Do you think that wise, Little Waterbender?"

"Why yes, actually, Master Bloodbender, I do" she replied innocently a petulant pout on her face, before it shifted back into a blank state.

"No more distractions," she intoned.

They rushed at each other and Amon was very surprised to find himself dodging an open palm to the chest with no bending included. Jumping her sweep kick to his ankles a few moments later, Amon mentally prepared himself for a difficult fight.

They danced around each other, their blows rarely connecting. Amon knew he moved with all the fluidity of the waterbender he once was but, watching this girl, fighting with her, he had to admit, she made dodging look like an art form.

His attack would slip past her like water off a leaf and she would twirl back in with three hits of her own, that he would just barely avoid. When one of her open palms finally connected with his chest just below his shoulder, something changed. Amon tried to ignore the numbness he could feel where he was hit and the sudden difficulty he had with steady breathing as she started moving faster. Her fighting style changed slightly, her stances became more solid and her blows became heavier. When a powerful punch to the stomach sent him to his knees, Korra made her ultimate move.

Earthbending the stone platform beneath them and trapping Amon's hands, Korra moved them so Amon was leaning backwards on his knees facing the ceiling. Eyes widened behind the mask once again as he looked at the girl before him in a new light.

"You're the-"

"What did I say?"

Silence met her question. A cheeky grin lit up her face, as her thumb and forefingers on his forehead and chest.

"That would be telling."

Then light flashed before his eyes, his ears rang, his mouth went dry and time stopped in an endless glow of blue.

As quickly as it stopped, it started again. Ears still ringing and black spots flashing in his eyes, Amon didn't even realise his bonds had been released as he collapsed to the floor. He did, however, notice when a cold, disconnected, empty feeling entered his body. Sitting up slowly, he took a moment to understand why he couldn't feel the water in the air or in the blood of the girl on the platform with him. He couldn't even feel the pool of water below the platform.

Slowing lifting his head to look at the newly recognised Avatar, he found her sitting cross-legged in front of him accessing his reaction to his revelation. She shuffled closer to him and reached up to his mask. He didn't even have the energy or conscious thought to stop her.

Removing his mask and gathering water from the air, Korra cleaned the scar make-up off his face. Examining his face, she nodded to herself before looking him in the eye.

"You wanted equality? Well, now you've got it" was all she said. Climbing to her feet, she looked over at the frozen and forgotten man on the floor. Her expression darkened as she walked over to him. A croaked voice stopped her before she even got halfway.

"Why?"

She sighed before turning around to find him staring at her in desperation; "Because, even though I don't know you personally, I'd say your life was about as crappy as mine was. It doesn't take much to figure out who your dad was, with you being such a powerful bloodbender. I don't know about your mother but your dad was an ass. At least, I knew my parents loved before they died."

"He did love me," it was a feeble defence at best.

"Not as much as your mother and brother loved you. And if he did, he had a sick way of showing it."

"How do you know?!" he shouted from the floor as rage coursed through him at these assumptions, "How do you know that I have a brother? That my mother loved me? Who my father was? How do you know? Why did you take my bending? My mask? Why didn't you just kill me?!"

He was panting from exertion and frustration by the time he was finished but she answered calmly and clearly, not seeming to be all that bothered that he was raging at her and exhibiting a patience very few knew she had.

"My talks with Avatar Aang are what gave me most of my information as well as news articles about your father from the past about his crimes involving bloodbending," she began.

"You have distinct similarities to Councilman Tarrlok, which just confirmed my information and theory on him being your brother. I know your mother loved you because you're looking for equality, even if you're going about it the wrong way. Your father wouldn't have thought you compassion, but he obviously taught you bloodbending. However, the precision it takes to block someone else's bending through their blood shows you've had a lot of practise at bloodbending people, not just animals. And as bloodbending is a taboo subject these lessons would have been private. Not even your mother would know about them. So my guess is that he had you bloodbending either him or your brother, am I right?"

A numb, despondent nod was her only answer.

"Thought so. As for your bending and potential suicidal tendencies," she paused after this sarcastic remark. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly she continued.

"Avatars avoid killing when they can. They believe in balance. As a girl who grew up on the streets, I believe more strongly in karma then balance. You've put up with a lot of shit in your life. This is me trying to give you a chance to have some good in it. You're lucky you wore a mask and face paint or I wouldn't be able to give a second chance" she suddenly turned stern, "so don't fuck it up!"

He blinked at her, stunned by her honesty just as much as her blatant, blunt and crass demeanour. He dropped his gaze to the floor and began to think. She sighed again and walked over to pick up his mask. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Find your brother and put a leash on him. He's having the same trouble with his past that that you are but if he messes up I won't be able to help him like I helped you."

With that said she walked off with his mask in hand. She pulled up short just before the frozen, cowering man and turned on her heel.

"Oh, one more thing?" her tone made Amon look up, curious despite himself. She smiled at the reaction. "When you find your brother, for the love of Yui, don't tell him I'm the Avatar. I'll never hear the end of it."

He looked confused but nodded none the less. She smiled wider, this time in gratitude. Turning once more to the Lieutenant she picked him up and threw him over her shoulder in an impressive display of strength and bending.

"Thank you, Avatar" Amon said suddenly.

"Korra. Avatar Korra, but just Korra at the moment. I'm not ready for the title just yet," she replied looking over her unoccupied shoulder with a smile.

She jogged to the edge of the platform and jumped high in the air to land lightly in the spectator's stands. She disappeared through one of the exit doors and was gone, leaving the man once known as Amon alone on the platform. He made his escape shortly afterwards.

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**As you can see she is a bit darker, a little more savy and a little less... naive I guess. This would be close to the end of the story obviously, but I thought I'd throw it up and get feed back.**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**


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